Overview

Mt. Shah Neshin is one of the mountains in northern Tehran located to the west of Mt. Tochal. "Shah Neshin" means a place where a king sits or camps. This name comes from the fact that 100-150 years ago king Nasereddin-shah from Qajar dynasty on his way from Tehran to the village of Shahrestanak camped in the northern side of this mountain very close to where Tochal hotel is located now. The eastern side of the northern slopes of this mountain is part of Tochal ski resort which is skiable for about 8 months a year. This resort is open till first day of summer (June 21st). The base elevation is 3545m, and the top of the resort is 3850m high. In 2008 the precipitation was unusually low which was 40% below the annual average, and they closed the ski resort 5 weeks earlier.

Ski area for the future

Tochal ski resort

Tochal Hotel (3545m)

Tochal and Damavand

Getting There

The easiest way to get to this mountain is to go to the end of Velenjak Avenue in northern Tehran, and take Tochal Tele-cabin (Gondola) and go to the 7th station (3730 meter). Then go to the west and hike for about 30-45 minutes.
Another way is to go to the village of Darakeh from where you can go towards Palangchal shelter. Now you can either take the route to Palangchal mountain and then go to Mt. Shah Neshin, or you can pass the shelter and go to the north for half an hour and hike up to the east towards Tochal 5th station and go from there.
If you take the route through Darakeh, you can also visit some nice places such as Kara waterfall and the springs at the lower slopes of Mt Shah Neshin which are the main sources of Darakeh water stream.